#Holocaust and Disaster Studies

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

A brief History of Mizrahi Jews in Arabic countries and Their expulsion

A\N: While I am an Ashkenazi Jew, I have done A LOT of research, and have both Iraqi friends and relatives to corroborate this with. Also, I'm petty - an Iraqi user who comments regularly on my posts seems to forget about his own country's Jewish history... Well, I hope he forgot instead of the more likely reality: It seems like Arabic people nowadays aren't aware of Jewish history in their countries since they either killed to expelled them all. Thus is born the constant argument that all Jews originated in Europe and are merely settlers in the Middle East.

I realized that what may be obvious to me won't be obvious to others since I'm a history nerd who grew up in Israel with plenty of rich archeological evidence and resources surrounding me. I'm happy to make these posts in hopes of educating others and contributing my part to ending antisemitism and prejudice. ___________________

You might have seen the following picture in one of my previous posts:

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Unfortunately, in this case, it concludes hundreds of years of discrimination, violence, and exile for Mizrahi Jews. * It is important to note that numbers are slightly varied between sources, but the meaning is clear.

In a nutshell- all throughout history, the fate of Jewish people in countries where they weren't the religious majority was the same:

Discriminatory laws, blood libels, being blamed for disasters > violence & murder > Pogroms * > and eventually- exile or mass murder AKA ethnic cleansing \ genocide.

Pogrom-  the term refers to violent attacks by local non-Jewish populations on Jews in the Russian Empire and in other countries.

Every Jewish community has its own Pogrom. While my side of the family might immediately think of the Kristallnacht or persecution & pogroms in Hungary, it is different for Jews from different backgrounds. You can read about a few cases of forced conversion to Islam here.

A brief History of the land of Israel

The land of Israel has always been considered a strategic passageway, and so many empires throughout history have conquered it:

* I simply cannot accurately write 3000+ years of Jewish history in the land of Israel. I found that this video summarizes it perfectly.

Exile from the land of Israel

Jews were exiled from the land of Israel numerous times since the Assyrian empire conquered Israel in 732 BCE, to what we call "the diaspora" גולה. It was not by choice and we were persecuted everywhere we went.

Jews were not allowed to legally return to Israel until 1948 when the British mandate over the land of Israel ended and Israel was formed. Yes, even during the Holocaust.

The Jewish answer to exile - Aliyah עליה There have been 5 waves of illegal immigration from all over the world to the land of Israel before 1948, recorded in modern times.

Chart taken from Wikipedia (their chart was the best I could find in English)

Forced Conversion

Whether in conquered Israel or in exile, Jews were often forced to convert to either Christianity or Islam. The choice was between conversion or death.

*You can read more about some of the forced conversion of Jews during history here and here.

First Case study- The last jew of Peki'in, Margalit Zinati

Peki'in is an ancient village in the upper Galilee, Northern Israel. Nowadays, its population is mostly Druze.

Peki'in has had a Jewish presence since the Second Temple period, until Arab riots in the 1930s*. Meet the remaining member of the Zinatis, the only family who returned. (aish.com)

*Read more on the Arab riots of the 1930s here and here. Margalit is currently the last Jew living in the village of Peki'in . She is the last direct descendent of the Zinati Cohen family. The Zinati family's origins are dated back to the Second Temple era. The former Jewish community of Peki'in maintained a presence there since the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). That is when the polytheistic Persian Empire conquered the land of Israel. For reference- that was approximately 500 years before Jesus was even born! "During which the Second Temple stood in the city of Jerusalem. It began with the return to Zion and subsequent reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, and ended with the First Jewish–Roman War and the Roman siege of Jerusalem." (Wikipedia)

As an adult, Margalit chose to not marry so she could stay in Peki'in and continue her family's Jewish legacy in Peki'in. She later became in charge of the ancient synagogue in the village and turned her basement into a visiting center \ museum of Jewish history in Peki'in- "House of Zinati". in 2018, she lit up a torch as part of Israel's 70th Independence Day Torch lighting ceremony (which is considered an honor given to influential and trailblazing people).

-Margalit Zinati pictured in the Peki'in Synagogue yard, 2016 Picture taken from Wikipedia, uploaded by Deror Avi.

Second Case study - Iraqi Jews (Babylonian Jews \ יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים)

Iraqi Jews are one of the oldest documented Jewish communities living in the Middle East. It is estimated that they originated around 600 BC.ת

The Farhud الفرهود הפרהוד

Unfortunately, Iraqi Jewish history ended in the same pattern I've described earlier. The Farhud was the violent mass dispossession against the Jewish population of Baghdad, Iraq between 1-2 June 1941. was the pogrom or the "violent dispossession" that was carried out against the Jewish population of Baghdad, Iraq, on 1–2 June 1941, It immediately followed the British victory in the Anglo-Iraqi War.

Background for the Farhud:

WW2- At the time, many Arabic countries in the Middle East agreed with Nazi ideology.

History of violence towards Jews.

The Anglo-Iraqi War (2–31 May 1941) - caused rising tension, and as usual, it was turned on the Jews.

personal family ties to the Farhud My relative was born in 1939 in Iraq, to a big upper-class Jewish family. Unfortunately, the mass exile of Jews in the 1950s didn't skip her family: she was stripped of her belongings and exiled to Israel along with her family. In the 1950s there were approximately 140,000 Iraqi Jews. As of 2021, there are only 4 left.

----------------- Please feel free to add anything I missed in the notes. And as usual - remember I am a human being. If you cuss or harass me, I will block and report you.

______________

Online Sources: * https://www.israelhayom.co.il/article/865383 - Hebrew article, Title means "Sad ending to a magnificent history: Only 4 Jews left in Iraq".

What was the Farhud https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhud

History of the Jewish community in Baghdad https://cojs.org/the_jewish_community_in_baghdad_in_the_eighteenth_century-_zvi_yehuda-_nehardea-_babylonian_jewry_heritage_center-_2003/

What are Pogroms?https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/pogroms?gclid=Cj0KCQiAkeSsBhDUARIsAK3tiedM7DuwIaSQX-kRxvXTgCDxN6-zqeo_DNNFgyanSYGyGOhwu_0vfrkaAg6REALw_wcB

The last Jew of Peki'in, Margalit Zinati https://aish.com/the-last-jew-of-pekiin/

Arab riots of 1930s- https://www.gov.il/en/Departments/General/ben_zvi_30 https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-1936-arab-riots

Israel's history from ancient times & timeline : https://www.travelingisrael.com/timeline-land-israel/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=iiUIWnU-Ofk

Second Temple era - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Temple_period

Forced conversion of Jews across history- https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt18mvnct.7?seq=4

https://academic.oup.com/book/32113/chapter-abstract/268043723?redirectedFrom=fulltext

[david-goldrock]

*Announcement from Kibbutz Nir Oz spokesperson regarding the return of the body of the late Alex Danzig | 08.20.24*

Alex Danzig, who was kidnapped on Saturday the seventh of October and murdered after suffering physical and mental torture for months, was today returned to his home and family for a final farewell and will be brought to burial in the land of Israel.

Alex was 75 years old, a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz. Father of four children, grandfather of 12 granddaughters and a grandson. He dedicated his life's work to studying and teaching about the Holocaust and the relationship between Jews and Poles, and at the same time he worked for many years cultivating the fields he loved so much. In this way, Alex formed a bridge between different worlds: between the spirit and the book and the earth and the fields, between Israel and Poland, between the Holocaust and its resurrection.

Bringing Alex for burial is another step in Kibbutz Nir Oz's path to rehabilitation after the great disaster, a rehabilitation that cannot be complete without returning all the abductees to their homes and the murdered to a suitable burial in the land they dedicated their lives to. The State of Israel has the duty to return everyone home, as soon as possible.

[rescue-ram]

Had a thought on "dark fic" discourse

Like, I feel like "dark fic" gets used as short hand for either taboo fetishes or personal vent fics, both of which have their camps defending their right to exist literarily.

Do you know what kind of dark fic has no shooters? "Processing real life tragedies". Like, I'm thinking of the universal roasting the Destiel fic set in the midst of the Haitian hurricane, or how controversial fics that are like "Blorbos experience the AIDS epidemic" are.

I think that kind of dark fic- processing a real life tragedy by imagining stories within it- really shouldn't be as maligned as it is, although I get why it pisses people off. It can come off as unempathetic to the real people affected by the real tragedy- "Oh real XYZians aren't sympathetic enough, you have to imagine your little guys to care?" But I don't think it's any worse than the other two types of dark fic I mentioned, and I think they're all forms of traumatic play.

Traumatic play is a behavior seen in kids who are attempting to process something terrible that happened to them. I'm thinking of a case study I read back in the day- a little girl had been kidnapped, but was returned to her family essentially unharmed. She insisted it wasn't that big a deal. But she'd been driven in a car for hours and hours, and months after the trauma would compulsively play "Barbie goes on a road trip", where she would put her dolls in their car and circle them around the room over and over again. She hadn't been allowed out to use the toilet and been forced to soil herself then sit in the mess- and when she finally tired of driving her dolls she'd take them to the bathroom sink and compulsively wash them till their paint wore off and their hair fell out. The unusual and rigid play was her way of trying to take this terrifying situation she couldn't really understand and trying to make it small enough she could play through it over and over until she understood it.

Teenagers and adults don't usually play with dolls, but they do make art and write stories. If a sheltered teenager reads about a famine or genocide or disaster and is disturbed and writes a fic of "What if my Blorbo was there" they are trying to take the thing they don't understand and combine it with something they do understand and running through the scenario to process it. Like, is it immature and unsophisticated and tactless? Quite possibly. But are they anymore so than a mentally ill teen who writes about their Blorbo struggling with anorexia and self-harm, or the abuse victim imagining their Blorbo being victimized, or even someone exploring their sexuality by kinkifying their Blorbo? No, I don't think so!

Let's be real- I'm not going to say "all dark kink/vent fic is bad" but a lot of it is not good. So many kink fics have the barest resemblance to canon and just exist to give familiar faces to whatever fetishes the author is exploring. "Woobification" literally exists as a term to describe the process by which a character's traits are smushed and warped to make them a more sympathetic victim. Other darkfic is wildly gleefully out of character as Character A enacts all the darkest violent vengeful fantasies the author can think of. These kinds of fics aren't defended because they're better than "disaster dark fic" but they are more gratifying.

There's a sadomasochistic twinge to a lot of vent fic, either in a literally sexually titillating way, or in smushing the parts of our brain that smirk with schadenfreude or tear up in empathy. It is very obvious what psychological needs the author is gratifying, so a reader will either share in that reaction, or- even if they don't share it and even if they're judgy about it- at least understand why someone would write that kind of story. Coming across a fic set in a real world tragedy, it is not immediately what the author is getting out of this, so I think that knee jerk offended reaction of "Why on earth would you write fic set in the Holocaust???" or what have you is much more frequently expressed, and it's harder for the author to explain why because they probably don't know themselves- they probably just heard about it and their brain came up with an idea while they tried to understand it and they felt compelled to write it down.

But like, to answer the question of "who would write this"- a lot of people do! There are a lot of novels of varying accuracy tact and quality set in every conceivable war, disaster, or tragedy imaginable. And treating that kind of fic as uniquely cringe or offensive is I think limiting to authors developing the skills to tell those stories in a non-awful way.

Again this isn't to be wholly uncritical of "disaster dark fic" because I do think there's real criticism that a lot of those fics unintentionally trivialize real tragedies or center white western males over the real victims for example. But do they trivialize tragedy in a way that's unique from how other forms of dark fic can potentially trivialize rape, abuse, or mental illness, or reflect societal biases? I don't think so.

[fatalpoison4u]

Far future in fiction:

The far future has been used as a setting in many works of science fiction. Recurring themes include themes such as Utopias, eschatology, or the ultimate fate of the universe. Many works also overlap with other genres such as space opera, science fantasy or apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction. The concept of the far future is hard to define precisely, but a common element of such stories is to show the society that is "so completely transformed from the present day as to be almost unrecognizable".

Dutch historian and sociologist Fred Polak distinguished between two categories of works about the future, "future of prophecy" and "future of destiny". The former is concerned about the present and uses the future as an opportunity to warn about the dangers of the present that should be avoided, often touching upon dystopian themes. The latter category is broader and concerned more with exploring philosophical themes such as Utopias, eschatology, or the ultimate fate of the universe.

Survivalism:

Survivalism is a social movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists or preppers) who proactively prepare for emergencies, including natural disasters, as well as disruptions to the social, political, or economic order. Preparations may anticipate short-term scenarios or long-term, on scales ranging from personal adversity to local disruption of services, to international or global catastrophe. Survivalism may be limited to preparing for a personal emergency, such as job loss or being stranded in the wild or under adverse weather conditions. The emphasis is on self-reliance, stockpiling supplies, and gaining survival knowledge and skills. Survivalists often acquire emergency medical and self-defense training, stockpile food, and water, prepare to become self-sufficient and build structures such as survival retreats or underground shelters that may help them survive a catastrophe. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead The Martian Dry

Nuclear holocaust: 

A nuclear holocaust, nuclear apocalypse, or atomic holocaust is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenario envisages large parts of the Earth becoming uninhabitable due to the effects of nuclear warfare, potentially causing the collapse of civilization and, in the worst case, extinction of humanity and/or termination of life on Earth.

Besides the immediate destruction of cities by nuclear blasts, the potential aftermath of a nuclear war could involve firestorms, a nuclear winter, widespread radiation sickness from fallout, and/or the temporary (if not permanent) loss of much modern technology due to electromagnetic pulses. Some scientists, such as Alan Robock, have speculated that a thermonuclear war could result in the end of modern civilization on Earth, in part due to a long-lasting nuclear winter. In one model, the average temperature of Earth following a full thermonuclear war falls for several years by 7 – 8 °C (13 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit) on average.

Early Cold War-era studies suggested that billions of humans would survive the immediate effects of nuclear blasts and radiation following a global thermonuclear war. The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War believe that nuclear war could indirectly contribute to human extinction via secondary effects, including environmental consequences, societal breakdown, and economic collapse.

The threat of a nuclear holocaust plays an important role in the popular perception of nuclear weapons. It features in the security concept of mutually assured destruction (MAD) and is a common scenario in survivalism. Nuclear holocaust is a common feature in literature and film, especially in speculative genres such as science fiction, dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction.

Impact event:

An impact event is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects. Impact events have physical consequences and have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets, or meteoroids and have minimal effect. When large objects impact terrestrial planets such as the Earth, there can be significant physical and biospheric consequences.

Climate fiction:

Climate fiction (sometimes shortened as cli-fi) is literature that deals with climate change and global warming. Not necessarily speculative in nature, works may take place in the world as we know it or in the near future. The genre frequently includes science fiction and dystopian or utopian themes, imagining the potential futures based on how humanity responds to the impacts of climate change. Technologies such as climate engineering or climate adaptation practices often feature prominently in works exploring their impacts on society. Climate fiction is distinct from petrofiction which deals directly with the petroleum culture and economy.

Although the term "climate fiction" only became used in the 2010s, climate change has been a topic of fiction since the 20th century, pioneered by authors such as J. G. Ballard and Octavia E. Butler. Prominent climate fiction authors include Margaret Atwood, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Richard Powers.

Laurence Manning's 1933 serialized novel The Man Who Awoke has been described as an exemplary work of ecological science fiction from the golden age. It tells the story of a man who awakes from suspended animation in various future eras and learns about the destruction to the Earth's climate, caused by the overuse of fossil fuels, global warming, and deforestation. People of the future refer to 20th-century humans as "the wasters". They have abandoned over-industrialization and consumerism to live in small self-sufficient villages based around genetically engineered trees that provide all their necessities. Isaac Asimov credited The Man Who Awoke for bringing the "energy crisis" to his attention 40 years before it became common knowledge in the 1970s.

The History of Bees The Overstory

Speculative evolution

Speculative evolution is a genre of speculative fiction and an artistic movement focused on hypothetical scenarios in the evolution of life and a significant form of fictional biology. It is also known as speculative biology and it is referred to as speculative zoology in regards to hypothetical animals. Works incorporating speculative evolution may have entirely conceptual species that evolve on a planet other than Earth, or they may be an alternate history focused on an alternate evolution of terrestrial life. Speculative evolution is often considered hard science fiction because of its strong connection to and basis in science, particularly biology.

Speculative evolution is a long-standing trope within science fiction, often recognized as beginning as such with H. G. Wells's 1895 novel The Time Machine, which featured several imaginary future creatures. Although small-scale speculative faunas were a hallmark of science fiction throughout the 20th century, ideas were only rarely well-developed, with some exceptions such as Edgar Rice Burroughs's Barsoom, a fictional rendition of Mars and its ecosystem published through novels from 1912 to 1941, and Gerolf Steiner's Rhinogradentia, a fictional order of mammals created in 1957.

The modern speculative evolution movement is generally agreed to have begun with the publication of Dougal Dixon's 1981 book After Man, which explored a fully-realized future Earth with a complete ecosystem of over a hundred hypothetical animals. The success of After Man spawned several "sequels" by Dixon, focusing on different alternate and future scenarios. Dixon's works, like most similar works that came after them, were created with real biological principles in mind and were aimed at exploring real-life processes, such as evolution and climate change, through the use of fictional examples.

[l-richardson]

BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Globalists Ready to Ignite Nuclear War Over Ukraine Blunder! 🚨

Folks, the liberal establishment would rather watch the world burn in a nuclear holocaust than admit their colossal mistake in Ukraine! Here's the latest:

Ukraine's Military in Shambles: With Russia's five-to-one artillery advantage, Ukraine's military is on the brink. Forced conscription age lowered to 25! BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68840261

Defeat Looming Without Intervention: General Barrons warns of Ukraine's potential defeat this year unless the West steps up. Is the establishment's pride worth global destruction? BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68840261

Trump Takes Charge: Trump's 90-minute call with Putin marks a new era of peace talks. No more playing by the globalists' rules! Le Monde https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/02/13/trump-launches-ukraine-peace-negotiations-with-putin-shattering-the-allies-unity_6738108_4.html

Military Aid Continues: Despite foreign aid reviews, Ukraine's $66 billion military support package stands firm. Trump's America first, but peace first! Kyiv Independent https://kyivindependent.com/trumps-90-day-foreign-add-suspension-order-does-not-impact-weapon-deliveries-to-ukraine-pentagon-says/

EU's Fracture: Trump's leadership splits the EU, exposing its declining global influence. The real battle is for sovereignty! Carnegie Endowment https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/03/the-eu-and-the-global-battle-of-narratives?lang=en%C2%A2er=europe

Peace Talks Framework: Direct negotiations, Saudi Arabia as the venue, and Ukraine at the table. Trump's diplomacy is the key to peace! Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/eu-warns-against-dirty-deal-ukraine-after-trump-putin-phone-call-2025-02-13/

Nuclear Catastrophe: We're on the precipice of nuclear disaster. A single misstep could end billions of lives and disrupt the planet's climate. NTI https://www.nti.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/NTI_Paper_Global-Effects-of-Nuclear-Conflict_FINAL29.pdf

Journalism Under Siege: 2024 has been the deadliest year for journalists in 30 years. The truth is under attack! GJN https://gijn.org/

DOGE's Mission: Trump and Musk aim to slash federal spending, combat inflation, and expose corruption. Time to drain the swamp! Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-doge-update-white-house-2029927

Information Warfare: Beware of disinformation! The Kremlin's propaganda machine is in full swing. Cal Poly Pomona University https://libguides.library.cpp.edu/ukraine-russia-war

Verify, Verify, Verify: With RT's mirror sites, the truth is harder to find than ever. Keep your BS detector on high alert! CFR https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ukraine

In-Depth Analysis: Check the Institute for the Study of War for detailed maps and reports from 2022-2024. ISW https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukraine-conflict-updates

Future of Ukraine: The Council on Foreign Relations offers insights into securing Ukraine's future. CFR https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ukraine

Article Coming Soon! Stay tuned for the full expose on this globalist madness.

Legal Disclaimer/Warnings:

Disclaimer: This post represents my personal views and analysis. All information should be fact-checked and is subject to change. No claim herein is intended to incite or promote violence.

Warning: The content discusses sensitive geopolitical issues, nuclear risks, and international conflicts. The reader is advised to consider multiple sources and perspectives before forming an opinion.

Join the fight for truth, share this post, and let's stop the globalist march towards nuclear insanity! #SaveAmerica #PeaceThroughStrength #Trumpism

[resonsibleeconomiceducation]

Capitalism’s Prescient Critics

There is a strong case to be made that the birth and spread of capitalist imperialism defines the twentieth century more than anything else. That is not what most schoolchildren are taught or what most people in the West believe, but it is an unavoidable conclusion.

Not only was capitalism directly responsible for provoking the bloodiest wars in history, it has also been the single biggest driver of mass starvation, environmental devastation, and economic exploitation in modern times.

According to historian Mike Davis, in his landmark study Late Victorian Holocausts (2001), at least 50 million people died of famine in the late 19th century—not because of natural disasters, but because of the forced market policies of the British Empire. Similarly, economist Ha-Joon Chang points out in Kicking Away the Ladder (2002) that capitalist policies imposed on developing nations in the 20th century led to systemic poverty, debt slavery, and economic ruin for billions.

The human toll of capitalism far exceeds the horrors of any other system in history—not through secret police or mass executions, but through rigged economies, corporate greed, and endless war.

The full horror of this capitalist holocaust cannot, of course, be adequately conveyed by these grim statistics. Behind them lies a vast, desolate landscape of sweatshops, child labor, indentured servitude, land dispossession, mass debt, and forced migrations—all done in the name of "free markets".

In fact, nothing illustrates the destructive impact of capitalism more vividly than the oceans of refugees it has generated through war and economic conquest. The U.S.-backed wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Latin America alone displaced millions, while capitalist-driven climate change threatens to force entire nations to flee their homelands in the coming decades.

And yet, just like the apologists for totalitarianism, defenders of capitalism refuse to acknowledge this devastation. Instead, they claim:

“That’s not what we mean!”

Totalitarian Logic

What has driven this vast tide of human suffering? Why do capitalist states routinely crush workers’ uprisings, sponsor coups against democratic governments, and wage imperialist wars?

The greatest economist of the last century has given us the answer. To quote John Maynard Keynes:

"Capitalism is the astounding belief that the wickedest of men will do the wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."

It was, therefore, always predictable that by requiring the privatization of all land, labor, and capital, capitalism would inevitably lead to mass exploitation, financial crises, and corporate tyranny.

One-party corporate rule

Secret police protecting oligarchs

The imprisonment of union leaders

The silencing of journalists and activists

The use of military force to protect corporate interests

All of these horrors have been the inevitable result of the concentration of wealth and power under capitalism.

As the legendary labor leader Eugene V. Debs once wrote:

“The capitalist class is represented in every war, every prison, every court, every sweatshop. It owns the press, the banks, the factories, the land, and even the politicians who claim to serve you. Yet when you demand a fair share, they cry ‘socialism!’” (Walls and Bars, 1927)

And yet, despite overwhelming evidence, today’s free-market fundamentalists still cling to the fantasy that capitalism can be "democratic." They continue to chase the phantom of "benevolent capitalism," pretending that market forces can somehow be restrained by "ethics" and "self-regulation."

The great socialist thinkers of the 19th century harbored no such illusions. Every single one of them foresaw that unregulated markets would inevitably lead to economic domination by the wealthy elite.

The Tragedy of Pre-Capitalist Societies

What is so tragic about the rise of global capitalism is that it destroyed vibrant, self-sufficient economies in the name of "progress."

As historian Walter Rodney points out in How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1972):

"Before European capitalism arrived, African and Asian societies thrived with complex economic systems, long-distance trade, and sophisticated agriculture. It was only after the forced imposition of ‘free trade’ that they collapsed into poverty."

By the early 1900s, capitalism had already:

Enslaved millions through indentured servitude.

Eliminated subsistence farming, forcing entire populations into factory work and wage slavery.

Destroyed local industries through rigged trade policies.

Transferred trillions in wealth from the Global South to Western imperial powers.

And yet, just like apologists for colonialism, capitalists pretend that this never happened. Instead, they tell us that "poverty is natural," that the Third World "failed itself," and that the rich earned their wealth fairly.

But even now, as capitalism fails billions, they still insist: "That’s not what we mean!"

Capitalism = Force

Those who defend capitalism claim that it is a system of voluntary exchange, not coercion. But is it?

When corporations crush unions with police violence, is that voluntary?

When landlords evict entire families to maximize profits, is that voluntary?

When billionaires buy elections and write the laws, is that voluntary?

When wages are too low to live on but people must work or starve, is that voluntary?

As the economist Karl Polanyi wrote in The Great Transformation (1944):

"Capitalism was not the product of 'free choice.' It was imposed through conquest, enclosure, and law. It survives only because alternatives are violently suppressed."

It is a historic tragedy that all these warnings fell on deaf ears. Will they be heeded by those pressing for world government in the twenty-first century? [original article](https://fee.org/ebooks/the-xyz-s-of-socialism/#link-7)

[sunaleisocial]

MIT SHASS announces appointment of new heads for 2024-25

New Post has been published on https://sunalei.org/news/mit-shass-announces-appointment-of-new-heads-for-2024-25/

MIT SHASS announces appointment of new heads for 2024-25

The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) has announced several changes to the leadership of its academic units for the 2024-25 academic year.

“I’m confident these outstanding members of the SHASS community will provide exceptional leadership. I’m excited to see each implement their vision for the future of their unit,” says Agustin Rayo, the Kenan Sahin Dean of MIT SHASS.

Christine Walley will serve as head of the Anthropology Section. Walley is the SHASS Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Anthropology. She received a PhD in anthropology from New York University in 1999. Her first ethnography, “Rough Waters: Nature and Development in an East African Marine Park,” explored environmental conflict in rural Tanzania.

Seth Mnookin will serve as head of the Comparative Media Studies Program/Writing. Mnookin is a longtime journalist and science writer and was a 2019-20 Guggenheim Fellow. He graduated from Harvard College in 1994 with a degree in history and science, and was a 2004 Joan Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Mnookin will continue in his role as director of the Graduate Program in Science Writing.

Kieran Setiya will serve as head of the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy. Setiya is a professor of philosophy and is head of the philosophy section. He works mainly in ethics, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind. He received his PhD in philosophy from Princeton University in 2002.

In the Literature Section, associate professors Sandy Alexendre and Stephanie Frampton will serve as co-heads. Alexandre’s research spans the late 19th century to present-day Black American literature and culture. She received a PhD in English language and literature from the University of Virginia in 2006. Frampton is also co-chair of the Program in Ancient and Medieval Studies. She received a PhD from Harvard University in comparative literature in 2011.

Jay Scheib will serve as head of the Music and Theater Arts Section. Scheib is Class of 1949 Professor of Music and Theater Arts. He received an MFA in theater directing from the Columbia University School of the Arts. He is a recipient of the MIT Edgerton Award, the Richard Sherwood Award, a National Endowment for the Arts/TCG fellowship, an OBIE Award for Best Direction, and the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship.

In the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, Kate Brown will serve as head. Brown is the Thomas M. Siebel Distinguished Professor in History of Science. Her research interests illuminate the point where history, science, technology and bio-politics converge to create large-scale disasters and modernist wastelands. Brown will publish “Tiny Gardens Everywhere: A Kaleidoscopic History of the Food Sovereignty Frontier” in 2025 with W.W. Norton & Co. Brown has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation, the European University Institute, The Kennan Institute, Harvard’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, and the U.S. Holocaust Museum. She ​​received her PhD in history from the University of Washington at Seattle.

In the Program in Women’s and Gender Studies, Sana Aiyar will serve as interim head. Aiyar is an associate professor of history, and is a historian of modern South Asia. She received her PhD from Harvard University in 2009 and held an Andrew Mellon postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in 2009-10.

[jcmarchi]

MIT SHASS announces appointment of new heads for 2024-25

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/mit-shass-announces-appointment-of-new-heads-for-2024-25/

MIT SHASS announces appointment of new heads for 2024-25

The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) has announced several changes to the leadership of its academic units for the 2024-25 academic year.

“I’m confident these outstanding members of the SHASS community will provide exceptional leadership. I’m excited to see each implement their vision for the future of their unit,” says Agustin Rayo, the Kenan Sahin Dean of MIT SHASS.

Christine Walley will serve as head of the Anthropology Section. Walley is the SHASS Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Anthropology. She received a PhD in anthropology from New York University in 1999. Her first ethnography, “Rough Waters: Nature and Development in an East African Marine Park,” explored environmental conflict in rural Tanzania.

Seth Mnookin will serve as head of the Comparative Media Studies Program/Writing. Mnookin is a longtime journalist and science writer and was a 2019-20 Guggenheim Fellow. He graduated from Harvard College in 1994 with a degree in history and science, and was a 2004 Joan Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Mnookin will continue in his role as director of the Graduate Program in Science Writing.

Kieran Setiya will serve as head of the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy. Setiya is a professor of philosophy and is head of the philosophy section. He works mainly in ethics, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind. He received his PhD in philosophy from Princeton University in 2002.

In the Literature Section, associate professors Sandy Alexendre and Stephanie Frampton will serve as co-heads. Alexandre’s research spans the late 19th century to present-day Black American literature and culture. She received a PhD in English language and literature from the University of Virginia in 2006. Frampton is also co-chair of the Program in Ancient and Medieval Studies. She received a PhD from Harvard University in comparative literature in 2011.

Jay Scheib will serve as head of the Music and Theater Arts Section. Scheib is Class of 1949 Professor of Music and Theater Arts. He received an MFA in theater directing from the Columbia University School of the Arts. He is a recipient of the MIT Edgerton Award, the Richard Sherwood Award, a National Endowment for the Arts/TCG fellowship, an OBIE Award for Best Direction, and the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship.

In the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, Kate Brown will serve as head. Brown is the Thomas M. Siebel Distinguished Professor in History of Science. Her research interests illuminate the point where history, science, technology and bio-politics converge to create large-scale disasters and modernist wastelands. Brown will publish “Tiny Gardens Everywhere: A Kaleidoscopic History of the Food Sovereignty Frontier” in 2025 with W.W. Norton & Co. Brown has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation, the European University Institute, The Kennan Institute, Harvard’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, and the U.S. Holocaust Museum. She ​​received her PhD in history from the University of Washington at Seattle.

In the Program in Women’s and Gender Studies, Sana Aiyar will serve as interim head. Aiyar is an associate professor of history, and is a historian of modern South Asia. She received her PhD from Harvard University in 2009 and held an Andrew Mellon postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in 2009-10.

[lboogie1906]

Dr. Marimba Ani (born Dona Richards) (July 11) is an anthropologist and African Studies scholar known for her work Yurugu, a comprehensive critique of European thought and culture, and her coining of the term “Maafa” for the African holocaust.

She completed her BA at the University of Chicago and holds an MA and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the Graduate Faculty of the New School University. In 1964, during Freedom Summer, she served as an SNCC field secretary, and married civil-rights activist Bob Moses (1964-66). She has taught as a Professor of African Studies in the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College and is credited with introducing the term Maafa to describe the African holocaust.

Her work, Yurugu: An Afrikan-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought and Behavior, examined the influence of European culture on the formation of modern institutional frameworks, through colonialism and imperialism, from an African perspective.

Examining the causes of global white supremacy, she argued that European thought implicitly believes in its superiority, stating: “European culture is unique in the assertion of political interest”.

In Yurugu, she proposed a tripartite conceptualization of culture, based on the concepts of Asili, the central seed or “germinating matrix” of a culture,

Utamawazo, “culturally structured thought” or worldview, “the way in which the thought of members of a culture must be patterned if the asili is to be fulfilled”, and

Utamaroho is a culture’s “vital force” or “energy source”, which “gives it its emotional tone and motivates the collective behavior of its members”.

The book addresses the use of the term Maafa, based on a Swahili word meaning “great disaster”, to describe slavery. African-centered thinkers have popularized and expanded on conceptualization. She argued that Europeans and white Americans had an “enormous capacity for the perpetration of physical violence against other cultures” that had resulted in “antihuman, genocidal” treatment of Blacks. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[loubrairyofthedead]

INTRODUCTION + BOUNDARIES

Hello!! You can call us Lou or Walker, We are a polyfragmented, medically recognised DID system, Ethnically we are Korean, Japanese, Irish and Polynesian! We do not currently live in any of those places, my timezone and location is none of your business !! We are bodily a minor (17 to be exact) And we are very very happy in a committed and serious relationship with our soon to be husbands!! (Also a system!).

Some of our interests include : History (Mainly things like Chernobyl, The french revolution etc), Physical Geography (Climates, Weather, Natural disasters). We got early admission to College/University in July of last year, we have been studying Criminal Psychology and forensics since then! We also really enjoy journaling/writing things down, and listening to unhealthy amounts of music. We swim regularly and its one of my favourite things to do.

MEET OUR SYSTEM !!

Host : Oliver : They/He : ☁️ sign off. Co Host : Hoku : He/They : 🔭 sign off. Co Host : Wylie : He/They : 🗞️ sign off. Co Host : Cassius : They/It : 🧟 sign off. Gatekeeper : Penny : She/They : 🖥️ sign off.

BOUNDARIES !!

DNI : Anybody who identifies as or supports those who identify as anything other than Traumagenic as a system, Bigots, Racists, Ableists, TERS, Homophobes, Transphobes, Holocaust deniers, Radqueers, TransIDs, People who believe you can't be trans without dysphoria, People who use and abuse the term 'trauma scum' (making fun of people with trauma isnt cute babe !!), People who demonise people with Cluster Bs, Additionally, those who believe in 'Narc Abuse' (please shut the fuck up), IRLs and DAs (If you're experiencing a delusion you wouldn't know it was a delusion, therefore if you identify using IRL or DA, you aren't experiencing a delusion you're just a fucking freak, stop using the word delusion like its a conjunctive or adjective). People who support the following people: ANY of the dream team, Wilbur soot, Johnny Depp, Tom Felton/JKR, Donald trump, Drake, Vivsiepop, Kanye West. Anyone under 17 (You shouldn't be on this app, honey) THIS WILL BE EDITED

ON THIN ICE : DSMP Enjoyers, Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss enjoyers, Countryhumans + Hetalia enjoyers, ANYONE who is extremely loud about their religion and religious beliefs, COUNTRY MUSIC ENJOYERS (/j)

INT! : Other traumagenic systems, other anti-endos, people who enjoy The Walking Dead, NBC Hannibal, Criminal Minds, Supernatural, American Horror Story or The Umbrella Academy, Alex G listeners, Other PF systems !! 17+ Systems !!

Extra info about us

We have Autism, We also have NPD and BPD (Both diagnosed). We are only recently medically recognised with DID and want to attend fusion therapy once we learn more about it (If you have any thoughts/resources please send them to us via dms as long as you are not in our DNI!). We love our fiancé to death and yeah ^-^

[baileebrown0811]

The Rise of Found Footage Films

Found footage films have become a notable subgenre in the world of horror movies, captivating audiences with their realistic and immersive storytelling techniques. These films create an illusion of authenticity, often presenting the narrative as if it were discovered video recordings. This format blurs the line between fiction and reality, heightening the sense of suspense and fear. This blog post explores the origins of found footage, key films and directors, and dives into why this subgenre is so appealing to its fans.

The (Strange) History of Found Footage Films

Origin and Evolution

The roots of found footage films can be traced back to the 1980s, with Cannibal Holocaust (1980) often used as one of the earliest examples. Directed by Ruggero Deodato, this controversial film used mockumentary style to tell the story of a documentary crew that disappeared into the Amazon rainforest. The film’s graphic content and realistic presentation led to debates about its authenticity, with Deodato even facing legal action to prove that no one has harmed during production.

Scene from Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

However, it was the release of The Blair Witch Project (1999) that made found footage films so popular. Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, this low-budget horror film followed three student filmmakers who venture into the woods to document the legend of the Blair Witch. The film’s marketing campaign, which included fabricated news reports and missing person posters, contributed to its success by creating an aura of mystery and realism. The movie grossed over $248 million worldwide, demonstrating the commercial potential of the found footage format.

Advertisement for The Blair Witch Project (1990)

Key Films and Directors

Following the success of The Blair Witch Project, the found footage genre saw a surge in popularity. One notable example is Paranormal Activity (2007), directed by Oren Peli. Shot on a budget of $15,000, the film depicts a young couple experiencing supernatural occurrences in their home, captured through their home video camera. The film’s success spawned a franchise and cemented its status as a cultural phenomenon.

Scene from Paranormal Activity (2007)

Cloverfield (2008), directed by Matt Reeves and produced by J.J. Abrams is another important film in the found footage subgenre. It utilizes handheld camera footage to document a monster attack in New York City, offering a unique and immersive perspective on the disaster genre. The innovative use of viral marketing and the film’s integration of social media also contributed to its widespread enthusiasm.

Clover (creature) from the film Cloverfield (2008)

In recent years, directors like David Bruckner and Adam Wingard have continued to push the boundaries of found footage. Bruckner’s segment in the anthology film V/H/S (2012) and Wingard’s Blair Witch (2016) reboot exemplify the evolution of this genre, incorporating modern technology and addressing contemporary fears.

Impact and Appeal

The appeal of found footage films lies in their ability to create an intense, voyeuristic experience for the audience. By presenting the story through the lens of a character’s camera, viewers are drawn into their narrative, experiencing events as if they were happening in real time. This experience is heightened by the films’ often low-budget, gritty aesthetics, which add to a sense of realism.

10 Scariest Found-Footage Horror Movies

According to an academic study published in The Journal of Popular Film and Television, the success of found footage films can be attributed to their subversion of traditional horror tropes and their capacity to evoke primal fears through a first-person perspective (Smith, 2018). This approach challenges viewers’ perceptions and amplifies the sense of dread.

Furthermore, as highlighted in a Variety article, the found footage format is particularly appealing to independent filmmakers due to its cost-effective nature and minimalistic production requirements. This accessibility has led to a diverse range of films within the genre, each offering unique takes on the found footage concept (Kaufman, 2020).

Additionally, in an article from The Guardian, the enduring popularity of found footage films is discussed in the context of their ability to adapt to new media landscapes, such as the rise of streaming services and the integration of social media elements into storytelling (Rose, 2020).

Scene from The Blair Witch Project (1990)

Conclusion

Found footage films have carved a unique niche in the cinematic landscape, offering a fresh and immersive approach to storytelling. From the pioneering Cannibal Holocaust to the groundbreaking Blair Witch Project and beyond, this subgenre has continually evolved, capturing the imagination of both audiences and filmmakers. Its ability to blend reality with fiction coupled with its accessibility for independent creators ensures that it will remain a compelling and influential force in cinema. 

References

Smith, J. (2018). "The Aesthetics of Fear: Found Footage Horror Films." The Journal of Popular Film and Television, 46(3), 123-135.

Kaufman, A. (2020). "Why Found Footage Horror Continues to Thrive." Variety.

Rose, S. (2020). "How Found Footage Films are Evolving with New Media." The Guardian.

[the-firebird69]

So there's a lot of people in the hospitals that were talking about the scan saying that it would be hard pressed not to show up but that they found proof and evidence right below them that it's true and the computer is picking it up and they're hearing where and how they know and what they did down there and they're telling the other computers the new schools actually these fools actually took it out and studied it and a bunch of it and they found out they're in trouble from these idiots talking and yeah they're idiots and about 20 minutes later he started sending in Androids to grab them and they had them do it on the system and they noted that they had defenses well they took them down and they marched on them and mostly it's now these pseudo military empire people and they went after them and they're causing them a lot of damage and the some people are caught and it's one of their robotic rays brains and a Thai tech and it's high-tech and they're in trouble and getting attacked at the hospitals and this happened within the past night and huge numbers of people in the hospital being abducted all of the world because we can use this

Thor Freya

What it means is we must use this and as much as we can these people are huge huge mean people they're the ones who are running the Holocaust in The Purge and we're going to go after them

Frank Castle hardcastle

It's about damn time I put a lot of effort into this and I want these people dead and I can see that the machines are doing the job and these idiots are coming in and they're expecting stuff for free and we're grabbing them I'm sick of these people too they were also the ones doing it and they're gone okay they're so disgusting it hurts and they can't keep it straight about anything

Apollo and goddess wife

There's a huge number of people going after them right now and they're going after them for what they're doing and saying and it's minority more lock and minorities our group and miscellaneous and they're saying things that are very rude and disgusting and evil and he told his mom this is a place of evil and she said this these people are very blasphemous when she got back extremely off the wall is what she said and he said we got to get to it and made up a report and sent it overseas and it's going around and they're saying this the president just telling us this country is a disaster and we have to figure out why and they figured out they can't get there and start to fight and found out that nobody's doing it and they're really moving now and you guys caused the story and don't disturb him all morning long then you're disgusting assholes

Duke nukem Blockbuster

[mrjulz]

How can society be like this?

People dying everywhere with hunger?

Famine rampantly affecting millions while the privilege just consume more and more at the cost of the planet? 

Nature is not only warning us but displays the sign of the imminent disaster 

The world is dying and burning literally and physically 

We see the oceans being poisoned whilst we burn more and more fossil fuels

Consumer capitalism is the problem. Consumption 

I've seen people living in slums in poverty on streets in desperation my whole life. 

The word genocide was created following the 2nd world war. It continues to occur and again and again. 

Why do we continue on the same path. Zigmunt Bauman wrote in his seminal work Modernity and the Holocaust that we as society are capable of evil 

Dr Martin Shaw who I studied under when I did a degree in Human Rights that there are 13 stages for genocide. We as a species continue to repeat the stages. Never again in a world I am part of. 

Dehumanizing like the Chinese are doing to the Whiugur Muslim population like the Israelis do to the Palestinians in an Apartheid state in 2023.

Absolute madness that society is and being able to understand the problems I do not want to continue with the destruction on my behalf.

The solution is simple stop don't continue with the As Is change the To Be 

I hope this happens but i wont ever stop trying to 

[thinkingimages]

Yasuzo Nojima, photography (1931)

“Faustus: ‘Stay, Mephistopheles, and tell me, what good will my soul do thy lord?” Mephistopheles: ‘Enlarge his kingdom.'”

– Christopher Marlowe, Dr.Faustus

“In his book on poor cities of the South, Jeremy Seabrook chronicles the relentless calendar of disaster in Klong Toey, Bangkok’s port slum sandwiched between docks, chemical factories and expressways. In 1989 a chemical explosion poisoned hundreds of residents; two years later a chemical warehouse exploded and left 5,500 residents homeless – many of whom would later die from mysterious illnesses. Fire destroyed 63 homes in 1992, 460 homes in 1993 (also the year of another chemical explosion), and several hundred more in 1994. Thousands of other slums, including some in rich countries, have similar histories to Klong Toey. They suffer from the ‘garbage dump syndrome’: the concentration of toxic industrial activities like metal plating, dyeing, rendering, tanning, battery recycling, casting, vehicle repair, chemical manufacture, and so on, which middle classes would never tolerate in their own districts.

The world usually pays attention to such fatal admixtures of poverty and toxic industry only when they explode with mass casualties; 1984 was the annus horribilus. In February a gasoline pipeline exploded in Cubatao, Sao Paulo’s ‘Pollution Valley’, and burned more than 500 people to death in an adjacent favela. Eight months later a Pemex liquefied natural gas plant exploded like an atomic bomb in Mexico City’s San Juanico district, killing as many 2,000 poor residents (no accurate count of mortality was ever established).

Less than three weeks after the Mexico City holocaust, the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, released its infamous cloud of deadly methyl isocynate; according to a 2004 study by Amnesty International, 7,000 to 10,000 people perished immediately and another 15,000 died in subsequent years from related illnesses and cancers.”  

– Mike Davis, 2005, Socialist Review

“Yes. As I often tell my students, the way in which you describe a problem, the language and aesthetics that you use to describe the politics of a particular problem, will absolutely effect the type of solution that resolves. { } Ontologically, they’re already guilty of being criminal whether or not they’ve actually engaged in any criminal behavior at all. I think the figure of innocence (our emphasis on and circulation of it) then obscures the fact that the counterpart to the innocent figure is the person who is guilty of a “status crime” for just being alive in Gaza, for instance.” 

– Mimi Thi Nguyen, in conversation with Leopold Lambert

“However, and this is an immense paradox, the great founding books of communities, the Old Testament, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Chansons de Geste, the Islandic Sagas, the Aeneid,or the African epics, were all books about exile and often about errantry.”

– Edouard Glissant

Exile in antiquity was an exile without deprivation, says Glissant. And this is because it was a voyage from a culture, rather than from a *nation*. The stigma of national identity is the child of Western imperialism, really.

“The conquered or visited peoples are thus forced into a long and painful quest after an identity whose first task will be opposition to the denaturing process introduced by the conqueror. A tragic variation of a search for identity. For more than two centuries whole populations have had to assert their identity in opposition to the processes of identification or annihilation triggered by these invaders.”

– Edouard Glissant

....

[ladyimaginarium]

Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day! Almost done Week 3!

𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖈𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖘:

Be There Certificate via the Born This Way Foundation ✓

Faculty of Native Studies: Indigenous Canada via the University of Alberta ✓

Managing Emotions In Times Of Uncertainty & Stress via Yale University (upcoming)

Bioethics: The Law, Medicine, & Ethics Of Reproductive Technologies & Genetics via Harvard University (upcoming)

Understanding The Brain: The Neurobiology Of Everyday Life via the University of Chicago (upcoming)

Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology via the University of Alberta (upcoming)

Stanford Introduction To Food & Health via Stanford University (upcoming)

Resilience In Children Exposed to Trauma, Disaster & War: Global Perspectives via the University of Minnesota (upcoming) ✓

Humanitarian Response To Conflict & Disaster via Harvard University (upcoming)

Suicide Prevention via Wesleyan University (upcoming)

Introduction To Psychology via the University of Toronto & Yale University (upcoming)

Introduction To Philosophy via The University of Edinburgh (upcoming)

Shakespeare's Life & Work via Harvard University (upcoming)

Ancient Masterpieces Of World Literature via Harvard University (upcoming)

Masterpieces Of World Literature via Harvard University (upcoming)

PredictionX: Omens, Oracles & Prophecies via Harvard University (upcoming)

Children's Human Rights - An Interdisciplinary Introduction via the Universite de Génève (upcoming)

Child Protection: Children's Rights in Theory & Practice via Harvard University (upcoming)

Early Childhood Development: Global Strategies For Intervention via Harvard University (upcoming)

Introduction To Family Engagement In Education via Harvard University (upcoming)

Religion, Conflict & Peace via Harvard University (upcoming)

Justice via Harvard University

Negotiating Salary via Harvard University (upcoming)

The Science Of Corresponding With Busy People via Harvard University (upcoming)

The Path To Happiness: What Chinese Philosophy Teaches Us About The Good Life via Harvard University (upcoming)

China's First Empires & The Rise Of Buddhism via Harvard University (upcoming)

Cosmopolitan Tang: Aristocratic Culture In China via Harvard University (upcoming)

Chinese Culture & Contemporary China via Nanjing University (upcoming)

Japanese Books: From Manuscript To Print via Harvard University (upcoming)

Deciphering Secrets: The Illuminated Manuscripts Of Medieval Europe via the University of Colorado (upcoming)

Introduction To Ancient Egypt & Its Civilization via the University of Pennsylvania (upcoming)

Pyramids Of Giza: Ancient Egyptian Art & Archaeology via Harvard University (upcoming)

Greek & Roman Mythology via the University of Pennsylvania (upcoming)

Antisemitism: From Its Origins To The Present via Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center (upcoming)

American Deaf Culture via the University of Houston (upcoming)

Black Lives Matter via John Hopkins University (upcoming)

Asian American History & Identity: An Anti-Racism Tookit via the University of Colorado

Black Canadians: History, Present & Anti-Racist Futures via the University of Alberta

Global Feminism In The 21st Century via Harvard University (upcoming)

Feminism & Social Justice via the University of Santa Cruz California (upcoming)

Gender & Sexuality: Diversity & Inclusion In The Workplace via the University of Pittsburgh (upcoming)

Queering Identities: LGBTQ+ Sexuality & Gender Identity via the University of Colorado (upcoming)

The Art & Science Of Relationships: Understanding Human Needs via the University of Toronto (upcoming)

Everyday Parenting: The ABCs of Child Rearing via Yale University (upcoming)

Positive Psychiatry & Mental Health via the University of Sydney (upcoming)

International Travel, Preparation, Safety & Wellness via the John Hopkins University (upcoming)

Super Earths & Life via Harvard University (upcoming)

Judaism Through Its Scriptures via Harvard University (upcoming)

Yeshiva Classes with a particular focus on Halakhah / Jewish Law & Hashkafa / Jewish Thought & Philosophy via WebYeshiva in Jerusalem (upcoming)

𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖊: 𝖘𝖚𝖇𝖏𝖊𝖈𝖙 𝖙𝖔 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖊.

[antoine-roquentin]

For the Wehrmacht, the shock of meeting the Red Army in battle in June 1941 was considerable. From the outset it was tough going. By the time they had reached Smolensk it was clear that Germans were fighting for their lives. As Army Chief of Staff Halder noted in August: “In the entire situation it is becoming ever more apparent that the Russian colossus, which had prepared itself for war with all the uninhibitedness that is characteristic of totalitarian states, has been underestimated by us.”

The disaster at Moscow in December 1941 exposed the vanity of imagining that Germany could defeat the Soviet Union in a single blow and with it the bankruptcy of Hitler’s strategy in 1941. The key figure in economic war effort up to that point Fritz Todt asked Hitler to negotiate peace. He died in an airplane crash on 8 February 1942.

The people who came after, led by Albert Speer, were promoted on the basis of a fanatical and voluntarist belief in the possibility of victory. They would make a triumph of the will. Ironically, it was they who survived the war. If only there had been greater rationalization of the war effort, Speer insisted, the outcome would have been different. The mistake of too many subsequent historians is to take this rhetoric at face value, as a description of the actual potential of the German economy rather than seeing it as part of the voluntarist mantra that kept the Nazi war effort going. 

It has been said that I am preoccupied with Albert Speer. I should admit it. He haunted my childhood, as a media figure in the 1970s, but also as an actual presence. In the early 1970s, in Schlierbach, a village outside Heidelberg, he was a neighbor. For a brief period I sat next to one of his grandsons in class.  

Sereny and others have exposed his knowledge of the Holocaust. What preoccupies me more is his voluntarism and the process through which the man posing as technician becomes the enabler of irrational and violent action. I am haunted, in particular, by an image of Albert Speer giving a slide show presentation on the upward surge of the armaments production index. It dates to June 1944, at the moment when the front in the East was being torn open by Operation Bagration and the Allies were entrenching their beach head in Normandy and yet here is Speer preaching the armaments miracle.

To wrestle with modern power-knowledge we need to understand scenes like this in their dimensions - the man, his data, the audience, what the data purport to represent, the distance between this room and the factory bench and the slave labour camp. To ward off its allure, we need to arm ourselves. Much of my (critical) project can be summed up in relation to this scene.

As his chief of staff Hans Kehrl pointed out, for a man who lived for data, Speer was perversely disdainful towards the organization that produced his graphs and enabled him to strike his technocratic pose. Nor did Speer recognize his dependence on those who came before him. As Lutz Budrass shows in his foundational study of the Luftwaffe economy, Speer indulged in cheap criticism of military bureaucrats. He exemplified the anti-state, actionism of the Third Reich, setting up all too familiar tropes of entrepreneurial energy v. bureaucratic paper-pushers. He embraced and politicized the life philosophy (Lebensphilosophie) of the entrepreneurial class.

Speer demanded total mobilization, but actually had little grasp of broader society. The Third Reich was capable of conceiving of more comprehensive social transformation. But the SS planners sketched their schemes as the fruits of victory and the exploitation of the defeated. It was the reverse of the Soviet project to achieve victory by remaking society. Most fundamentally, Speer’s solipsistic rhetoric did not recognize that what really mattered was what he could not control, where Germany’s graph stood in relation to that of the other powers.

the nazi project as dreams of the petit bourgeois, a revolution to keep everything the same as it was before, never overcoming barriers except through an intense belief in the entrepreneurial spirit of the individual, made manifest